News

Inhibiting an immune signaling protein called TLR7 may help preserve the protective layer surrounding nerve fibers in the brain during both Alzheimer’s disease and ordinary aging, suggests a study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Most nerve fibers in vertebrates are encased in sheaths made largely of a protein called myelin, which protects the fibers and greatly enhances the efficiency of their signal...

A new study helps explain why having ApoE4—the gene variant most closely linked to Alzheimer’s disease—increases the risk of neurodegeneration and white matter damage. Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine discovered that immune cells in the brain called border-associated macrophages (BAMs) are a source of ApoE4 protein and contribute to damaging blood vessels and brain tissue.

With surprising frequency, patients with severe brain injury can show clear signs of cognitive function on brain scans in response to requests to carry out complex mental work, even when they can’t move or speak, according to an international study co-led by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators.

The study, published Aug. 14 in the New England Journal of Medicine, was the largest-ever...

Weill Cornell Medicine scientists have uncovered the first evidence that astrocyte receptors can trigger opposite effects on cognitive function in male and female preclinical models. The findings point to astrocytes, brain cells that support and regulate neurons, as key contributors to sex-specific brain mechanisms.

While many studies have tested the behavioral effects of astrocytic receptors, none of them have addressed whether biological sex plays a role and most have tested only...